Depression and Teens:
A Guide for Parents
Having bad days once in a while is normal for teens, but what if your teen seems down in the dumps for a few weeks, or even a few months? If feelings of sadness or irritability won't go away, the cause might be depression. Depression is very common and can affect any person at any age, including teens. This guide is designed to help you recognize the signs of depression and help you find resources for your teen.
Use the links below to find the section you are interested in:
Facts: Causes and Symptoms of Depression
Treatment Options for Depression
Coping with Depression
How to Get Help for Your Teen
Facts: Causes and Symptoms 
What is depression?
Depression affects feelings, behaviors, thoughts, and physical well-being. There may be feelings of sadness or irritability, a lack of energy, trouble sleeping, feelings of hopelessness or worthlessness, or unhappy thoughts about life. Depression may affect a person physically causing trouble sleeping, eating, or concentrating, or aches and pains such as headaches or stomachaches.
Who gets depressed?
Although we don't know the exact number of people who have depression, we do know that it affects children, teens, and adults of all ages and all ethnic and racial backgrounds. Of the teens who are depressed, about 1 in 20 will suffer from significant depression.
What are the symptoms of depression?
Teens with depression may:
- feel sad or "empty" a lot of the time. These feelings may come
and go, but last for at least two weeks.
- not feel like doing things they used to enjoy, like playing sports,
hanging out with friends, or studying.
- feel easily irritated or get angry or lose their temper quickly.
- feel tired or have less energy, or feel be restless and edgy.
- experience changes in your eating habits. They may eat more or
less than they did before they started feeling depressed.
- experience changes in sleep, either sleeping a lot more or a lot less than before, and/or having trouble falling asleep or waking up.
- find it harder to concentrate and make decisions.
- have poor self-esteem.
- often feel guilty about things that they do or don't do.
- feel that things will never get better.
- have thoughts about not wanting to live or about hurting themselves,
or they may have tried to hurt themselves.
How do I know whether my teen is depressed or just sad?
It is normal to feel depressed or sad sometimes. However, if your teen has some or all of the above symptoms most of the time for two weeks or more, she could have depression. There are no laboratory tests that can be done to prove that someone is depressed, like there are for illnesses such as strep throat or diabetes. But if you think your teen may be depressed, it is important to talk with her health care provider. It may also be a good idea to consult a mental health provider about ways to help your teen.
What are the effects of depression?
Depression has many different and powerful effects on people who have depression and on the people around them.
Depression can:
- make it harder to work at a job or in school.
- make it more difficult to make and keep friends.
- make it more difficult to get along with family members.
- affect physical health. For example, a person with depression may feel tired or run down all the time.
- make a teenager feel tempted to turn to alcohol, drugs, or sex as a way to escape from difficult feelings.
- make your teen feel extremely irritable which can cause them to yell and argue.
- cause difficulty paying attention, which can lead to car accidents and other serious mistakes.
- lead to serious injury and even suicide if left untreated.
What causes depression?
No one knows for sure what causes depression. The most important thing to keep in mind is that it is not your teenager's fault if she becomes depressed. Most likely, depression is caused by a combination of things, some of which have to do with the chemicals in the brain and some that have to do with life events. Sometimes depression can be the result of certain medical conditions such as anemia or a thyroid disorder. Other times, depression may be the consequence of dealing with a chronic health issue such as endometriosis or another medical problem that causes chronic pain or other debilitating symptoms. Some factors that may increase the risk for depression:
- Genetics: If other people in the family have had a depressive illness, your teenager may have similar genes and be more likely to become depressed.
- Family problems: A major loss in your family or conflict among members of your family may cause your teen to feel depressed.
- Low self-esteem: If your teenager is constantly being criticized, abused, or neglected, or if she is having difficulty at school or other activities, she may be more likely to feel depressed.
- Feeling alone: Some teens feel that they are different from others or that their friends and family don't understand them. This may be particularly true for teens who are gay, lesbian, or bisexual, who have just broken up with a boyfriend or girlfriend, or teens who have a parent with a physical illness, mental illness, or a substance abuse problem.
- Medical conditions: Medical conditions such as thyroid disorders, anemia, diabetes, or chronic disease or pain can result in depression. If there is a history of any significant medical condition in your family or daughter, be sure to tell her health care provider.
Your teen may not have any of these problems but still feel depressed.
How to Get Help for Your Teen
What should I do if I think my teen is depressed?
If you think your teen may be depressed, ask her if she has been feeling down, depressed, sad, irritable or hopeless. It is important to let her know that you noticed that she seems unhappy, and that you care. It is very important to consult a professional if your teen shows feelings or behavior that are of concern such as depression for more than a short time, drinking or using drugs, lack of appetite, decline in grades, increased social isolation, increased irritability, risky behavior, or self-harm.
Any of the following professionals should be able to provide treatment or help you get treatment for your teenager.
- Mental health professional such as a social worker, psychologist, or psychiatrist
- Health care provider
- School counselor
- Clergy person
What if my teenager says she is thinking about hurting herself?
Anyone who has thoughts or feelings about hurting themselves should be taken seriously and should get professional help immediately. Suicide is the third leading cause of death in teens and young adults, but can often be prevented with urgent treatment.
It is important to know that many people, teenagers included, who feel suicidal tell someone before they kill themselves or make an attempt to kill themselves.
Teenagers may injure themselves by cutting without intending to kill themselves. However, self-injury is serious and should always be taken as a sign that the teen is feeling overwhelmed and cannot cope with her feelings. If a teen is harming herself, she needs immediate intervention.
If your teen is harming herself or says she thinks about killing herself, she needs to be evaluated by a mental health professional immediately! If you are unable to obtain urgent care from a mental health provider, take your teen to the nearest emergency room or call 911. |
Treatment Options
How is depression treated?
There are many different kinds of treatment for depression. Deciding on the right treatment depends on how much difficulty your teenager is having, what treatments are available to you, and personal choice.
- Counseling or Psychotherapy. Counseling or psychotherapy is something that can help with depression, and often the first treatment that is recommended by health care providers. It includes talking about thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in a confidential setting. Therapy can create a safe environment for your teen to discuss painful or frightening issues without feeling judged. It can teach your teen strategies for coping with situations in her life and with her feelings. It can also help her to understand herself better and provide an opportunity for her to learn how to solve problems more effectively.
Therapy can be done in a few different settings. Individual therapy is when your teen meets with the therapist alone in an ongoing way. Group therapy, with other teenagers, puts your teen in touch with others around her age who are experiencing similar problems, and may be reassuring. Sometimes, when a teenager is depressed, family therapy is useful, as members of families affect each other. The purpose of family therapy is not to blame but to support the family and help everyone get along better with each other.
- Medication. If depression is significantly interfering with your teenager's life, or if you or she feel that therapy alone isn't helping, your teenager's health care provider or therapist may suggest medication. The levels of certain chemicals in the brain affect depression. Taking medication can help the chemicals become more balanced, helping a person feel less depressed.
A doctor, a psychiatrist, or a nurse practitioner can prescribe medications. There are many different medications that treat depression. Parents often have concerns about their children taking medication for depression, so it is helpful to ask about the benefits and possible side effects. Anti-depressant medication has generally been shown to be safe when used as prescribed. When your teen is feeling better, she may want to stop taking the medication, but many medications should be decreased gradually. You and your teen should always talk with her health care provider before making any changes with the medication.
- Day Programs, Overnight Programs, and Hospitals. If your teen becomes so depressed that she has trouble with her every day life, or she is having thoughts about hurting herself, she needs more help than regular counseling sessions at a counseling center or hospital. In a day program, at a counseling center or hospital, patients arrive in the morning and spend all day in counseling, group discussions, and activities with mental health professionals and other patients. Overnight treatment programs are usually at hospitals where patients receive professional care all-day and are supervised overnight. Both treatments are used for teens who are severely depressed. Sometimes when a teen first feels depressed they can be in crisis, requiring in-hospital care, or sometimes it might happen if the depression has been going on for a long time and there are no signs of improvement.
Coping with Depression
Strategies that may help your teen cope with depression:
- Let your teen know that you are interested in how she is feeling and that you are available to talk. Just knowing that you care is helpful.
- Encourage your teen to keep up with her daily activities. Help her to participate in activities that she enjoys and that help her relax. Staying busy and in touch with others is especially important.
- Encourage your teen to get some kind of exercise at least 3 to 4 times a week. Eating healthy foods and being active can help improve mood.
- Suggest that your teen keep a journal. Writing about her feelings, drawing, and writing poetry are some ways that teens like to express themselves. Often being able to express their feelings will improve how they feel.
- Brainstorm with your teen about other strategies to cope with depression.
What else do I need to know?
Depression in teenagers is more common than people realize and most people who receive treatment for depression get better. Unfortunately, many people who are depressed don't get help. There are many reasons why people don't get help. Some people think that seeking treatment is a sign of weakness. Others are afraid to be seen as "crazy" for seeing a counselor or taking medication. Some parents do not recognize signs of depression in their teens, or sometimes they do not want to face it because they feel they are to blame or that others will blame them. It can be challenging to find the right mental health professional that is a good fit. It may take a few interviews with different mental health providers until your daughter finds someone she is completely comfortable with. The provider should not only have expertise in working with adolescents but more importantly, your teen should feel totally comfortable talking with this person. Although finding the right help takes time and courage, it greatly improves your teen's chances of getting better.
Written by the Center for Young Women's Health Staff
Updated 07/03/06
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